Real World Research: Life Guards|Youth Employment: Home

Search your topic and be sure to scroll down to find all possible items. Some non-science topics will also provide great resources.

If you're looking for a topic: Under Advanced Search, Topic Finder (third link at top) is an interesting way to find connections - be sure full text is checked.

Articles can be translated with top left tool.

Username: SMSouthhs

Password: raiders

A bunch of database tiles show up. Try these first: 

• World News Digest
• Issues & Controversies
• Today's Science

Use the CRAAP Test

Currency

• How old is the info?
• When was the site last updated?
• Is it current enough for your project?

Reliability

• What is the origin of this information?
• Does the info come from a school or government organization? (.edu, .gov, .org)
• Why do you trust this source?

Authority

• Is there a specific author listed?
• Is there contact info for the author?
• What knowledge or skill does the author have on the topic?

Accuracy

• Where does the info come from?
• Is it supported by evidence?
• Has the info been reviewed?
• Can you verify the info in another source?

Purpose

• What is the motive of the site?
• Does the site attempt to inform you and present all sides of an issue?
• Is the cite free of bias and not trying to sell you something?

Or use the SIFT Method

• STOP - before you take site at face value - do you know the source? the reputation? Use the next steps before you share, believe or use info
• INVESTIGATE the Source - See what independent sources say about the website by Google the site or going to Wikipedia (use the reference links too) to find out more.
• FIND Other Coverage - Can you find verification of the story/facts by other sites? Use fact checking sites such as Snopes.com or FactCheck.org. If you find a better article - great use that one! If you find articles debunking the original - also great.
• TRACE Claims to Original Context - Some articles you find are reporting on another reported story. Be sure you are checking on the original source to verify the accuracy of claims. You might have to dig into the article a bit to see who they are attributing info to. Is it an interview they did? Or is it something like, "According to CBS.com...." If it's the second, find the original story on CBS.com and verify facts from there.

Click Log In on top right

Click the Google Icon on the bottom left and it log in with your school account. You are NOT creating a new log in.

If this is your first time, you might have to pick SM South and fill out a couple of questions.

Create a new project and sources from there.

(From CSNU Library)

Annotations are about 4 to 6 sentences long (roughly 150 words), and address:

•     Main focus or purpose of the work
•     Usefulness or relevance to your research topic 
•     Special features of the work that were unique or helpful
•     Background and credibility of the author
•     Conclusions or observations reached by the author
•     Conclusions or observations reached by you

Hover over Kansans on the top menu. Scroll to Online Databases and click (don't do the fly out). Databases are toward the middle.

If you are home, you might need the info below to log in:

• Library e-Card: 465828

• Birthdate: 09011965

Depending on your topic, select the appropriate database category.

Great ones to use for general categories include

• U.S. Newsstream offers tons of news articles from around the country
• Explora Multi-Search - search "teen employment" 
• Today's Science - motivation and teen articles
• Health Source Consumer

If you need to search the internet for your topic, here are a few tricks.

• Avoid clicking on anything that says: AD (usually at the top of the search)
• Use .edu or .org to focus on reliable sources
• Put search terms in quote marks. Example: "future of education" .org
• Use Google Scholar if you want some serious research hits
• Most internet sites will not provide a citation, so use the Noodle Tools "fill in the blank" for that